23 



cleaned tip as described above, and the reverse when it is 

 neglected. 



Woodchucks in Massachusetts arc now in too many localities 

 one of the most mischievous of pests. The habits of the ani- 

 mal, its forays into the pea-patch, the clover field, where, in 

 eating and making paths, it docs in a short time as much dam- 

 age as would a much larger animal, and its wliolesale destruc- 

 tion of young beans and green corn, are well known. 



The numbers of this species have increased to a surprising 

 extent within a few years ; this fact may be accounted for in 

 two ways. First, tlie war collected from all the rural popula- 

 tion the sportsmen and gunners ; young men who once or twice 

 a week, with gun in hand, passed many hours in the woods and 

 fields. Of course, to these hunters many a careless woodchuck 

 fell victims, and the destruction was nearly sufficient to keep 

 the vermin in check. While the war was in progress the ani- 

 mals were nearly unmolested, and they increased very rapidly. 

 This fact has been noticed in connection with many of our 

 different species of gam.c, and my attention has been called to 

 it on several occasions. 



Again, the numbers of dogs throughout the State, in conse- 

 quence of the enforcement of the laws enacted for the encour- 

 agement of sheep husbandry, and the requirements of the law 

 that owners of all dogs shall pay for each animal a certain 

 license or fine, have decreased to a very noticeable extent ; and 

 neighborhoods which could have boasted of dozens of curs a 

 few years since, can now show but a very few. The reduction 

 of the numbers of these natural enemies to the woodchuck has, 

 as before remarked, had its effect, and of late years the animal 

 has become a decided nuisance. 



As the woodchuck does not lay up a store of food for the 

 winter, it hibernates, or rather its hibernation is natural, not the 

 effect of not saving a winter's food. The moutli of its burrow 

 is closed at the approach of winter, and the animal becomes 

 torpid. The burrow is formed with a chamber raised and with 

 several passages leading to it, and usually is beneath a rock, or 

 a stone wall. In spring, and while the animal is active, it is 

 caught in steel traps which are placed in the mouth of its 

 burrow and covered with loose earth. Recourse is also had to 

 poisoning, and stifling in the burrows has also been practised, 

 although generally with poor success, unless all the exits and 

 entrances are discovered and closed. The best mode of de- 

 stroying the animal that we know of, is to place a quantity of 

 gunpowder, enclosed in a paper bag, in the burrow, attach a 

 fuse or slow match to it, close the burrow with earth, which 

 should be tamped hard, and ignite the fuse ; the explosion is 

 fatal to the woodchuck, and the whole family, often, is extermi- 

 nated. 



